Wedding & Shower Invitations – DIY Methods

This is the next part in a 20-day long series. If you’ve missed any of it, you can find all of the tips in the category: Do it Yourself Wedding Plans.
These are all of the steps you need to schedule your time and budget for when you’re planning a DIY Wedding. The who’s, what’s, where’s as well as the when’s and how’s.

Save The Date

If you’re going to have a wedding, you’re going to be inviting lots of people.
Budget invitations are a great way to save on something that could otherwise cost you a fortune.Do It Yourself and pay next to nothing!

Wedding Invitations are so easy to make yourself with some fancy cardstock and a template on your computer.
Craft shops have great kits that fit with most themes and some even provide the templated software for you!

You can search online for proper wedding wording and fonts that fit with your wedding theme and then all you’ll need to do is add in the proper names and date.
Double and triple check the dates and spelling before you print!
You don’t want to invite everyone to a wedding on the 11th when it is actually on the 1st!
You also don’t want to tell them that Tara and Mike are getting married when it should be Sara and Miles.
Proofread everything, including the addresses!

By now, you should have your guest list completed and know exactly how many people you want to invite.
Buy some colored address labels to match the wedding invitations for a cute touch.
Make sure you’ve collected everyone’s addresses before you start adding them to the template.
Keep a copy of the guest list so you can check them off as the RSVPs start rolling in.

Important information that should be conveyed on an invitation are the bride and groom’s names, the date and time, the location, and RSVP card or phone number and email address, and anywhere you may have registered for gifts.
Mostly, gifts are given at the shower and money is given at the wedding, but that isn’t always the case.
If you’re requesting RSVPs, make sure you tell them when you need them by.
Give yourself plenty of time before you need to give a final headcount to the reception hall, caterer, or anyone else.

If you’re computer savvy, you can buy cardstock for even cheaper and design your own template.
This can get tricky and I urge anyone who goes this route to print a test copy before printing two-hundred copies to make sure that everything looks perfect.

Invitations are often all that your guests have to go on as far as wedding themes and colors.
Standard etiquette is to not dress in wedding colors, so you make want to use paper or ink in your wedding colors.

Another tradition of etiquette is children at weddings.
If you plan on an adult only wedding without children, you will want to address the invitations for Mr. and Mrs. Joe Smith.
If you intend to allow your guests to bring children, address them to The Smith Family.
This is a small nuance and not everyone will take note of the hint, so you will get calls or emails asking if your cousin can bring her baby.
Don’t be insulted if parents of small children do not attend.
They cannot always afford or find daycare.

Make sure your invitations fit your style in appearance and wording.
If you’re having a casual wedding, make your invitations reflect that.
If it’s a formal reception, be sure to let your invitation choice reflect that.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the next step of many that you’ll need to attend to for planning your Do it Yourself Wedding.